Fun
in the SonOn July 1st the Tri-parish youth ministry hosted a social event for
the North Central Deanery youth. The gathering was called “Fun in
the Son”. The night began as 32 youth along with their chaperones met at
the OMG youth room for praise and worship led by David Hamm and Sister
Wendy Olin. The Main Street of Cottonwood was booming with words
of thanksgiving and praise as voices came together and hearts were lifted
high in name of God.
The next part of adventure involved a trip to Grangeville to Subway.
Do you know what it’s like walking into a place with 32 hungry teenagers?
It’s great! The energy was high and the conversation non-stop.
As we gathered around table, we renewed old friendships and made new ones.
After our Subway adventure, it became imperative that we finish our meal
with ice cream, so across the street we went to get a bunch of ice cream
cones. It was the perfect ending to our meal.
The fun didn’t stop when our tummies were full. We watched the
sun slowly sink into the West which then gave us the go ahead to proceed
to the “Drive In” to watch “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Before the
movie we took a lot of pictures, did a little dancing, built a pyramid
with our bodies, and even piled everyone onto one car for an amazing picture.
When the movie started we all gathered outside on lawn chairs with popcorn
and pop in hand, it was a perfect time!
After the movie we headed back to Cottonwood, for Adoration.
We all gathered at St. Mary’s Church and entered into prayer as a young
Body of Christ. It was inspiring and nourishing to know that we, the young
church were able to come together and spend time praying for each other
as we were brought together in God’s name. We don’t get a chance
very often to slow down and spend quiet time together; quiet, separate,
yet together. It was a great experience!
After Adoration we went back to the OMG to play games, watch movies,
eat more food, and enjoy our time together. The most important part
of this time was just being together. We laughed, talked, and continued
to renew our friendship with each other. It is so wonderful to become familiar
with youth from other towns. We have met many of them through other Church
functions throughout the year, this time together just helped to cement
our relationship and bring us closer to each other as a Deanery.
How great is that?
Finally it was time to call it a night. So the boys headed up to the
Middle school Release Time room and girls stayed at the OMG. There
was a lot to talk about, even as the lights went out. But, as the
morning light began to sneak through the windows, the quiet sound of sleep
took over and a peaceful end to a wonderful day had finally arrived!
The invitation to a hot breakfast came rather quickly as sleepy eyes
and tired bodies began to move. Our final piece to this great
weekend was a hot breakfast at St. Mary’s Church prepared by our wonderful
chef, Angela Seubert and her trusty partner, Joe. We all gathered in the
Sacred Heart room, and were greeted with a great smile by Father Dick.
It was great to have him with us! Our time around table was again filled
with thankful hearts as conversations continued, relationship deepened,
and community developed.
The ending of our time brought with it a spontaneous game of volleyball
on the church lawn. It was time for us to go home but we extended our time
because no one wanted to leave. Finally, we had to say our good-byes, but
pledged we would keep in contact and that this would be an annual event.
The two main questions that surfaced were, “When is the next time we can
all get together?” “Can it be longer next time?” This showed me that
we are on the right track and truly are living our call to being a Christ
Centered Church by gathering community. Amen! God is so good!

The Tri-Parish Youth Ministry hosted a social event
for the North Central Deanery youth with youth from all over the area attending
Photo courtesy of Debbie Chicane.